IN CELEBRATION OF THE FALL HARVEST

It’s funny how stories change over the years. Take Thanksgiving, for example. The present story tells of a terrible winter where the Pilgrims barely came through with their lives. In fact, were it not for the hospitality of the local native American tribes – who gave the new settlers the knowledge of native flora and fauna – that early colony would have starved out and died in the wilderness of the New World. And so, to thank Squanto and his tribe, the Pilgrims gave a great feast we now call “Thanksgiving”.

What a lovely story to pass on to the generations . . . or should I say what a lovely PC story to shove down their throats!

In the PC version, there’s no mention of God, nor that the Pilgrims came to America to escape sever persecution because they were not willing to bend to the state religion of their European homeland. There’s no mention of the reason why the Pilgrims found it so hard to survive, or why and how the Indians came to their aid.

The true story of the Pilgrims begins in 1609, in Holland. As a religious separatist movement, they found that their homeland, England, no longer tolerated their beliefs. And so, they immigrated to the Dutch city of Lieden.
But even in the broadminded Dutch culture, persecution continued to follow them, and as Holland came closer to war with Spain, it became apparent that the Pilgrims would have to move once again. This time, it would be to a new world, a place where they could practice their beliefs without molestation.

The European continent was a place for neither religious nor political free thinking. In 17^th Century society, if you didn't go along with the King and his administration, you were likely to find yourself on the wrong end of an inquisition. While the church and state vied equally for ultimate power, it was often a blending of the two that ravaged the masses. Between Anglicanism and Catholicism, you had little choice as to what you were to believe, and even then, geography dictated your flavor of choice.

And so, in 1620, they set out for a new land, where they could believe as they chose, and practice as they wished.

They took what stores they could to weather the first year in America, though their holdings were meager at best. It was a hard journey, and an even rougher landing on the new continent. Luck had lost them long before they began, and by the time they arrived on the shores of Plymouth, they were all but shipwrecked and heading into winter. Their original intent was to immigrate to the colony of Virginia, which extended at that time to the Hudson River. But both the weather and lack of supplies conspired to leave them in the port of Cape Cod.

Because their original charter was to settle in Virginia, they had to reorganize as a New England colony. And thus, they entered into an agreement – the Mayflower Compact – that set forth the original political framework for their society. They would follow the biblical practice of the early Christians recorded in the book of Acts. However, it also set forth some very important concepts that we now hold sacred within our own political climate; that of religious freedom, separation of church and state, and equal justice under the law.

It was the winter of 1620 that nearly eradicated the Pilgrims. By the spring of 1621, nearly half of their party perished from the cold barren New England climate. But they managed to survive, gaining a foothold in America. When the Mayflower returned to England, it did so without a single Pilgrim. This spirited group had the opportunity to return to their homeland, yet they chose to remain in the New World. Over the following decade, others joined with them and immigrated to America.

The Abrnaki Indian Samoset was the first to welcome the new settlers in the spring of 1621, and not Squanto, whose native name was Tisquantum. Squanto, of the Wampanoag tribe, had been taken to Spain as a captive in 1614, but found his way back to the shores of New England by the time the Pilgrims landed in Cape Cod. The Wampanoags were the people who had lived in that area. Sadly, when he returned to his home, Patuxet, it had been completely wiped out by disease. Though the first meetings between European explorers and trappers, and American aboriginals were relatively peaceful, that contact carried biologic invaders the Indians were not able to withstand.

Inadvertently, the downfall of the original Native American population began in illness and not by war.

Regardless, the Indian’s first welcome was offered in mutual respect, and was also one of political significance to the Wampanoag. Massasoit, a Wampanoag chief, needed the support of the colonists to keep stability between his tribe and that of the Narragansett, another powerful nation in the region. Disease had tipped the balance of power in favor of the Narragansett, and the Wampanoag were certainly willing to welcome anyone who was helpful to their security.
The Pilgrims also needed support and protection. As a very small community, they easily could have been vanquished and eradicated by the native peoples living in that part of the world. While Europeans had a clear technological advantage, that benefit extended only so far as the European continent. In the wilderness, the new colonists were extremely vulnerable.

And so, the first contact between the new European settlers and the aboriginal peoples of America were elementally political and resulted in a treaty of mutual support between them.

The first celebration was a three day feast in honor of the fall harvest. It wasn’t a religious holiday, and was an observance that was brought to America, not originating here. It was a few years later in 1623 that the first religious day of thanksgiving was celebrated in response to a much needed torrential rainfall. Over time, the two fused into one observance, which in 1863 was commemorated through a national holiday.

The purpose of that first Thanksgiving was to thank the Creator for the annual harvest, and to honor the treaty of mutual support between the Indians and the colonists. While not a religious event, they were a religious people. And while the Indians did bring necessary knowledge to the settlers, the colonists too brought political stability to the Indians. And thus, the celebration has taken on many meanings aside from its original intent, that being an acknowledgement of providence on the part of God for a good and full harvest.

So what can we take from this time of celebration, aside from the fact that while the Pilgrims were legal immigrants, as chartered by England, their immigration eventually spelled the demise of the native peoples? As Europeans continued to colonize the continent, the Indians eventually found they had been conquered. Had they realized what was in store for their nations, they would likely have not been so symbiotic on that day in 1621.

As time passed, friction grew between the Pilgrims and the Indians. There were skirmishes and wars that broke out from time to time, and eventually the native peoples were subdued. As in most conflicts, this was not nearly as black and white an issue as it seems. There were native people who wanted to coalesce with the settlers, and some even went to war on their side. Thus, not all Europeans were intent on displacing the local tribes, nor were all of the indigenous people adverse to accepting European ways and traditions.

It was a culture clash, something that today we view as a negative.

Regardless, this early meeting of the two societies was one of mutual peace and support. The Pilgrims gave as much to Massasoit’s cause, as he gave toward their survival. It was in a spirit of mutuality that both gained in the process. And as for the religious connotation, we cannot forget that the Pilgrim’s whole intention was to establish a state whereby they could practice religious freedom.

It was in recognition of Europe’s tight grasp on the church that they set out on a path of separation between church and state. They had been victimized by the results of established religion, and so, they were very careful to keep the two aspects of society distinct. They did not, however, fear the civic observance of faith. In fact, they celebrated it openly. They simply drew the line between the secular and sacred at the point where one would dictate policy to the other. The two were blended, equal, but not conjoined.

This is the guiding principle the founding fathers used to pen our own Constitution.

And as for the early attempt at socialism, they tried the experiment we’re now toying with, and they found that it brought them to destruction rather than benefit. Within only a few years, they realized that some were working hard for the good of the community, and others were willing to sit back and share in the communal good. It wasn't long before the colonists became good capitalists, and their wares were the envy not only of the Old World, but are still valued as collectible today.

As for the Native Americans, people throughout the ages conquered one another, and will do so in the future as well. Were it not for that European invasion, you wouldn't likely be reading this, as Microsoft wouldn’t likely exist. Even the Indians conquered one another, as have the English, Spanish, Huns, Romans, Mongols, Greeks, Israelites, Babylonians, Egyptians, and others throughout time.
The world has never lacked for dictators, emperors, and potentates.

But for one brief moment in history, two worlds came together to share in celebration. In peaceful mutuality, they gave thanks to their respective gods for a bountiful harvest to carry them through the winter. That’s the point of Thanksgiving. In our war torn world today, maybe, just for one day, we can put aside our overburdening concern with melanin content and observe a day of mutual support. Who knows, maybe we’ll end up starting a new tradition?

(Special appreciation is given to the Pilgrim Hall Museum, whereby most of the information for this blog was gleaned.)